2/10/09

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There are many routes to make nanoparticles and the resultant materials can have significantly different properties, depending on the route chosen to fabricate them and laser ablation is one among them and is a novel approach to create nanoparticles. Laser ablation may be used for depositing nanosize metal clusters on substrates. In this case there is no additional treatment or preparation required. This method produces a wide distribution of particles of size and shapes, depending on the conditions of the irradiating laser. Laser ablation is capable of making almost any nanomaterial, since it utilizes a mix of physical erosion and evaporation. However, the production rates are extremely slow and most suited to research uses. Both RF and DC plasmas are being used successfully to make a wide range of materials. The heat source is very clean and controllable and the temperatures in the plasmas can reach in excess of 9000°C, which means that even highly refractory materials can be processed. However, this also means that the technique is unsuitable for processing organic materials.